.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Yale
Players Mentioned
Yale Hangs On For 67-59 Win Over Men's Basketball
March 01, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Yale freshman Porter Braswell drove the lane and scored with 21 seconds left, staving off a late Princeton rally, and the Bulldogs held on for a 67-59 win over Princeton in a men's basketball game played at the John J. Lee Amphitheater Saturday night.
Princeton (5-21, 2-9 Ivy), which trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half and nine points with just two minutes left, certainly made it interesting after that. After freshman Kareem Maddox made a pair of free throws to make it 62-56 Yale with 1:05 left, Jason Briggs stole the ensuing inbounds pass and, 15 seconds later, hit a deep three-point shot that pulled the Tigers within three.
Braswell had the answer for Yale (11-15, 5-7 Ivy) on the other end, however, driving from the top of the key and scoring in traffic to put his team back ahead by five points just before the shot clock expired. Princeton couldn't convert on the other end after Maddox missed a three-point shot, and Eric Flato then made three of four free throws in the final seconds to put the game away.
The layup was Braswell's only basket of the game.
"I thought the effort was there, including some guys who hadn't played a lot, and we gave ourselves a chance," said Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson. "It's difficult because I know we have been playing extremely hard and the results haven't come."
Princeton struggled from the field throughout the game, shooting just 15 for 44 from the field (34%), but stayed in it thanks to free-throw shooting, making 20 of 26 attempts from the line. Nine of Princeton's 15 field goals were three-pointers, including four from Noah Savage, who had a team-high 15 points.
Yale, on the other hand, shot 50% from the field for the game (23 for 46) in winning its fourth straight game over Princeton. The Bulldogs scored 34 points in the paint, led by Travis Pinick's 15 points and 10 rebounds. Pinick shot 7 for 8 from the field and also had four assists.
Yale's Nick and Caleb Holmes, two of four seniors playing their final home game for the Bulldogs, each hit three-point shots in the first two minutes of the second half to help increase Yale's six-point halftime lead to a double-digit advantage.
Princeton played well in cutting into that Yale advantage, getting the deficit to as little as five points several times before the final minutes, including at 58-53 when Zach Finley hit two free throws with 3:50 left. But the Tigers missed a chance to cut into that deficit on their next possession, and Caleb Holmes then drove the right baseline and scored with 2:29 left to put Yale (11-15, 5-7 Ivy) ahead by seven.
Though Princeton struggled from the field in the first half, the Tigers stayed close thanks to 12 trips to the foul line, of which they made nine, and a final putback by sophomore Pawel Buzcak right before the halftime buzzer that cut his team's deficit to 30-24.
The Tigers played much of the half without Savage, who had two baskets in the first six minutes of the game but was forced to the bench with his second foul with 12:45 left in the half.
Briggs and Nick Lake again provided a big spark off the bench for the second straight night for Princeton, combining for 23 points against the Bulldogs after scoring 24 combined points against Brown. Lake had 14 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.
Yale had four players score in double figures. Both Caleb and Nick Holmes had 11 points, as did fellow senior Flato.
Princeton will play its final three games of the season at home, beginning Friday night against Columbia.
NOTE: Cornell became the first team in the nation to clinch an NCAA tournament berth with an 86-53 win over Harvard Saturday night in Ithaca. The Big Red, now 12-0 in league play, are the first team other than Princeton or Penn to earn the league's automatic NCAA tournament berth since the 1987-88 season.